The best hotels in the Pyrenees for families with children
A getaway to the Pyrenees, among many other things, is synonymous with pure fresh air, trips to the forests, beautiful views, picnics beside a river, chasing butterflies, looking for snails and counting flowers of different colours. Or at least that's the case for the youngest members of the family! For families with children planning a family getaway to the mountains, I'm going to talk about five perfect hotels to visit with children in the Pyrenees, in familiar areas of Catalonia: Cerdanya, Garrotxa, Vall de Camprodon and Vall de Núria.
In the selected hotels you will find children's furniture, playrooms, parks and gardens, large family bedrooms and restaurants with menus designed for children; all so that your family getaway is pleasant, easy and convenient. And if you have pets at home, you will be pleased to know that most of these hotels will accept them.
La Garrotxa: Hotel La Perla
Olot, La Garrotxa
I'm going to start my recommendations for family getaways with Olot and the Garrotxa region, where I spent all my summers and holidays since I was very little and which stole my heart which is why I currently live here with my own family
At Hotel La Perla, everything is designed taking family tourism into consideration so that the younger members of the family feel at home: they have a children's playground in front of the hotel, a playroom inside, special menus for the younger members and thematic family bedrooms with characters from the Faràndula d’Olot - if you have the chance, don't miss the festivities of the Festes del Tura (around 8th September). Just a five-minute walk from the hotel, there is Parc Nou, a beautiful, green town park which is really peaceful.
In the Garrotxa region there are endless activities and excursions that can be done with the children. My favourite ones are going for a ride in a horse and carriage through the beech forest at La Fageda d'en Jordà, having a picnic at the Sant Roc Springs, climbing Montsacopa Volcano, riding bikes along the Carrilet greenways, exploring the Croscat Volcano, discovering the interactive forest at Xenacs and walking through the Gorgs de les Planes. For more adventurous people, you can also go up in a hot air balloon and see the Pyrenees and the volcanoes from the air.
Situated in the city of Olot, within the National Park of La Garrotxa. The family-run-hotel, with great experience and up-to-date equipment, guarantees a stay in a welcoming and quite atmosphere. At a short distance from the springs, from the volcanoes, from several sports centres, as well as the city centre, it is an ideal place to enjoy your holidays.
Vallter y Valle de Camprodon: Hotel La Coma
Setcases, Ripollès
Setcases, where the charming rural hotel La Coma is located, is halfway between the Vallter 2000 ski resort and the beautiful town of Camprodon. The hotel has a fabulous garden with a slide and swings where children can play as they like and an indoor heated swimming pool. It also has ping-pong tables, pétanque, a spa with children's massages, Jacuzzi and sauna and a welcoming playroom with board games, billiards, sofas and an open fireplace. If you enjoy golf, you will love Hotel La Coma: they have a putting green as well as a minigolf course. In addition to family rooms, there are also apartments with a kitchen which are ideal if you are looking for flexibility and space.
The Vall de Camprodon is beautiful all year round. In addition to strolling through Camprodon, Molló and Setcases, your getaway with children could include a trip to Molló Parc where the younger members of the family will have a great time seeing the Pyrenean animals: including bears, deer, squirrels, wolves and marmots. From Setcases, you can also go up to the Vallter 2000 ski resort, just 20 minutes away. Skiing and tobogganing in the winter, and walking trips the rest of the year, including the possibility of going up in the chairlift to the ski resort that is open in the summer to take you to the very top of the resort conveniently and quickly.
Hotel La Coma is ten kilometres from the ski slopes at Vallter 2000, 1,279 metres up. It is the ideal place for those who wish to practise skiing, fishing, hiking or mountain biking and to relax afterwards in its heated swimming pool, jacuzzi or sauna.
Vallter y Valle de Camprodon: Hotel-Spa Grèvol
Llanars, Ripollès
Still in the Vall de Camprodon, there is another fabulous hotel for a family getaway. I'm talking about Hotel Grèvol Spa, a charming hotel in Llanars which the whole family are bound to love. It has a covered swimming pool, a children's playground, a large garden in which they can run and play, a very spacious indoor recreation area with board games, billiards, ping-pong and table football. And to relax, the hotel has a spa and excellent thermal water area.
In addition to visiting Molló Parc (which I mentioned a little further up), you can also take advantage of your getaway to Hotel Grèvol to visit Camprodon and its surrounding areas and go for excursions on foot or on horseback. You can book a trip on horseback at the hotel itself. A couple of ideas for a hiking trip: the Gorg de Malatosca in Sant Joan de les Abadesses and the Camprodon Springs Route.
Hotel Grèvol, built of stone and wood, in the purest Bavarian architectural style, is in the Herat of the Pyrenees of eastern Girona. Perfectly integrated into the surroundings, natural light fills its rooms with warmth and invites you to relax in its swimming pool and the indoor jacuzzi or to feel the massage of its pressure showers.
Vall de Núria: Hotel Els Caçadors
Ribes de Freser, Ripollès
Hotel Els Caçadors is right next to the Vall de Núria, in Ribes de Freser, a small village from which the rack railway to Núria departs. A fantastic hotel for a family getaway in the Pyrenees. It has a large leisure room where children (and not just the children!) can have fun if it's a nasty day or if you want to stay in the hotel to relax: board games, table football, billiards and television in a room with tables, armchairs and an open fire so that parents and groups of friends who want to remain close to the children feel at home. When it's time to go to bed, why not visit the Sala La Lluna, a new relaxation area, with tenuous lighting and a lunar decoration, which will fascinate and relax young and old alike.
You can get to Ribes by car and also by train from Barcelona (Puigcerdà Line). Núria is one of the best family destinations in Catalonia, all the year round. If you stay at Hotel Els Caçadors, you will have free entrance to the Parc Lúdic (open all year) and to the Cau de la Marmota, with plenty of activities and workshops for children: a climbing wall, tubing, zip lining, balancing games, ball pool and trampolines, nature workshops, makeup and dressing up, origami, gardening and many others.
If you're the sort of family that enjoys going on trips, you will discover endless paths with different levels of difficulty starting from Núria. In winter, you can also ski, go tobogganing and go for walks on snowshoes.
The Caçadors is an ecological mountain hotel located in the Catalan Pyrenees at the gates of Vall de Núria which surprises for a combination of tradition and vanguard. Both its charm of family-run hotel and its rooms comfort will captivate the guest, who will also be able to enjoy a restaurant, an exterior hot tub, a terrace and the Moons Room.
La Cerdanya: Hotel Del Prado
Puigcerdà, La Cerdanya
To finish off the list of destinations and hotels recommended for visiting with children, here is a hotel in Puigcerdà. Hotel del Prado is surrounded by a garden with a fantastic children's playground and it also has a heated swimming pool in the summer, as well as a tennis court and a games room. The hotel accepts animals so you can bring your pets with you.
Your family getaway in Cerdanya should include some good plans such as ice skating in Puigcerdà, going for an excursion on horseback, bicycle riding, walking round the lake in Puigcerdà, playing golf, relaxing in the natural Roman thermal baths in Llo and Dorre, flying over the Cerdanya region in a hot air balloon, going for a ride on a Quad or hanging from trees in La Molina Adventure Park. If it's winter and there is snow on the ground during your getaway, you will be very close to La Molina and La Masella ski resorts. However, my favourite one is Les Angles, in the French Pyrenees with wide, easy slopes and fewer people around! (Les Angles is 40 minutes from Puigcerdà by car).